Genesis 30

1 Rachel realized that she was not becoming pregnant and giving birth to any children for Jacob. So she became jealous of her older sister, Leah, because Leah had given birth to four sons. She said to Jacob, “Enable me to become pregnant and give birth to children. If you do not do that, I [think I will]!”

And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “(I am not God!/Am I God?) [RHQ] He is the one who has prevented you from becoming pregnant!”

And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

3 Then she said, “Look, here is my female slave, Bilhah. (Sleep with/Have sex with) [EUP] her, so that she may become pregnant and give birth to children for me. In that way it will be as though (I have children/her children are mine).”

And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; that she may bear upon my knees, and I also may obtain children by her.

4 So she gave him her slave, Bilhah, to be another wife for him, and Jacob had sex [EUP] with her.

And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

5 She became pregnant and bore Jacob a son.

And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

6 Rachel said, “God has (vindicated me/judged my case and has decided that what I have done is right). He has also heard my requests and has given me a son.” So she named him Dan, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘he judged’].

And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

7 Later, Rachel’s slave Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son for Jacob.

And Bilhah Rachel’s handmaid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle to have children like my older sister, but truly I have a son.” So she named him Naphtali, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘struggle’].

And Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

9 When Leah realized that she was not becoming pregnant and giving birth to any more children, she took her female slave, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob to be another wife for him.

When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to wife.

10 Zilpah soon became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Jacob.

And Zilpah Leah’s handmaid bare Jacob a son.

11 Leah said, “I am truly fortunate!” So she named him Gad, [which means ‘fortunate’].

And Leah said, Fortunate! and she called his name Gad.

12 Later Leah’s slave, Zilpah, gave birth to another son for Jacob.

And Zilpah Leah’s handmaid bare Jacob a second son.

13 Leah said, “Now I am very happy, and people will call me happy.” So she named him Asher, [which means ‘happy].’

And Leah said, Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy: and she called his name Asher.

14 When it was time to harvest wheat, Reuben went out into the fields and saw some (mandrakes/plants that women eat to help them to become pregnant). He brought some of them to his mother Leah. But Rachel saw them and said to Leah, “Please give me some of those plants that your son brought to you!”

And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.

15 But Leah said to her, “No! (It was bad that you stole my husband!/Is it not bad enough that you stole my husband?) [RHQ] Now (are you going to take my son’s mandrake plants?/You want to take my son’s mandrake plants also, [so that you can become pregnant]!)” [RHQ] So Rachel said, “All right, Jacob can sleep with you tonight, if you give me some of your son’s mandrake plants.” [So Leah (agreed/gave her some)].

And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son’s mandrakes.

16 When Jacob returned from the wheat fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. She said, “You must sleep with me tonight, because I gave Rachel some of my son’s mandrakes [that enable women to become pregnant], to pay her for allowing us to do that.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

17 God answered Leah’s prayers, and she became pregnant and bore a fifth son to Jacob.

And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a fifth son.

18 Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband to be another wife for him.” So she named him Issachar, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘reward’].

And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

19 Leah became pregnant again and bore a sixth son for Jacob.

And Leah conceived again, and bare a sixth son to Jacob.

20 Leah said, “God has given me a precious gift. (This time/Now) my husband will honor/respect me, because I have given birth to six sons for him.” So she named him Zebulon, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘accepted gift’].

And Leah said, God hath endowed me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.

21 Later she gave birth to a daughter, and named her Dinah.

And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

22 Then God thought about what Rachel wanted. He heard her prayers and enabled her to become pregnant.

And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, “God has caused that no longer will I be ashamed [for not having children].”

And she conceived, and bare a son: and said, God hath taken away my reproach:

24 She named him Joseph, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘may he give another’] and she said, ‘want Yahweh to give me another son.’

and she called his name Joseph, saying, The LORD add to me another son.

25 After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Now allow me to quit working for you and let me return to my own land.

And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.

26 You know the work that I have done for you [for a long time to get my wives]. So let me take my wives and my children, and leave.”

Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service wherewith I have served thee.

27 But Laban said to him, “If you are pleased with me, stay here, because I have found out by performing a magic ritual that Yahweh has blessed me because of what you have done for me.

And Laban said unto him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, [tarry]: [for] I have divined that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.

28 Tell me what you want me to pay you for continuing to work for me, and that is what I will pay you.”

And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.

29 Jacob replied, “You know how I have worked for you, and you know that your livestock have increased greatly as I have taken care of them.

And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle hath fared with me.

30 You had only a few animals before I came here. But now you have very many, and Yahweh has caused them to increase greatly in number wherever I have taken them. But now I need to start taking care of the needs of my own family.”

For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it hath increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee whithersoever I turned: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?

31 Laban replied, “What do you want me to give you?” Jacob replied, “I do not want you to pay me anything. But if you will do this one thing for me, I will continue to take care of your flocks and protect them.

And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me aught: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it.

32 Allow me to go and look at all of your flocks today and remove from them all the speckled sheep, all the spotted sheep, and every dark-colored lamb, all the goats that are speckled, and all the goats that are spotted, [and keep them for myself]. They will be my wages.

I will pass through all thy flock today, removing from thence every speckled and spotted one, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and [of such] shall be my hire.

33 In that way, in the future, you will be able to know whether I have been honest regarding what you have paid me. If any of my goats are neither speckled or spotted, or if any of my lambs are not dark-colored, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”

So shall my righteousness answer for me hereafter, when thou shalt come concerning my hire that is before thee: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that [if found] with me shall be counted stolen.

34 Laban agreed and said, “Okay, we will do as you have said.”

And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.

35 But that same day Laban removed all the male goats that had black and white stripes on them or were spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled or spotted, all the goats that were partly white, and all the dark-colored lambs. He separated them and told his sons to take care of them.

And he removed that day the he-goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons;

36 Then he took these flocks and walked a distance of three days, in order that he could be that far from Jacob. Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

and he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 Then Jacob cut some branches of (poplar, almond, and plane trees/three kinds of trees that had white wood). He peeled strips of bark from the branches, so that where the bark had been peeled off, the branches were light in color.

And Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the plane tree; and peeled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

38 Then he placed the peeled branches in the troughs where they put the water for the animals to drink, so that the branches would be in front of the flocks when they came to drink.

And he set the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink.

39 The animals also mated in front of the branches, and eventually they gave birth to animals that were speckled, or to animals that were spotted, or to animals that had black and white stripes on them.

And the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

40 Furthermore, Jacob separated the female sheep in his flock from the other sheep and goats in Laban’s flock. And when his female sheep mated, he made them look toward the animals that belonged to Laban that had black and white stripes on them, and the dark-colored animals. He did that so that the female sheep would give birth to animals that were striped or dark-colored. By doing that, he made bigger flocks for himself, and he kept them separate from Laban’s flocks.

And Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own droves apart, and put them not unto Laban’s flock.

41 In addition, whenever the stronger female sheep were ready to mate, Jacob put some of those peeled branches in the troughs in front of them, so that they would mate in front of the branches.

And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger of the flock did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods;

42 But when weak animals were ready to mate, he did not put the branches in their troughs. So the weak ones became part of Laban’s flock, and the strong ones became part of Jacob’s flock.

but when the flock were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.

43 As a result, Jacob became very rich. He owned many large flocks of sheep and goats, and many male and female slaves, and many camels and donkeys.

And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and asses.